How to Choose Healthy Water Bottle – 34 Resources

Healthy Water Bottle, Here is an overview of different water bottles detailing which are safe and which aren’t:
Now if you’re like many hikers, backpackers, and cool kids, you might be saying “What! I can’t use my Nalgene anymore?! I’ve been carrying my Nalgene since high school!!” (I have.)

Don’t worry – there are alternatives.

So here’s the rundown on water bottles.

I’ll lay out the common materials used in water bottles, the key things you should know about each, and additional sources of information.

You are left to your own best judgment as to what action you take.

My choice was easy since I based it completely on my (and my family’s) health, but you might value durability or design more.

Basic Throw-Away / Recycle Bottle

What it’s made of: PET (Polyethylene terephthalate)

Key Things to Know: With reuse, PET can degrade and because the plastic is thin and wrinkled it can build up germs.

Other Resources:

Other Water Bottles:

Sigg

They are lined, and the lining most likely contains a trace amount of BPA.

Sigg won’t come out and say the bottles contain no BPA, which is what makes them suspicious.

Read the debate here in comments or here.

Sigg Water Bottle Review: Best Aluminum Bottle

We’ve reviewed quite a number of stainless steel water bottle options at Go Green Travel Green, and we’re quite familiar with the various brands in the eco-friendly water bottle market.

So when Sigg, one of the first metal water bottle options in the U.S., contacted me for a review of their new Cuipo bottles, my first thought was along the lines of, “Wait, doesn’t Sigg have problems with BPA?”

BPA, or Bisphenol A, is a harmful chemical that can leak into foods and liquids.

Trace amounts have been found in many plastic water bottles and metal water bottles with plastic in the lining.

All the water bottles we review and endorse are BPA-free, and we’ll make no exceptions: I’m happy to say that Sigg is now — and has been for some time — completely BPA-free.

In fact, Sigg’s correction of the problem led in part to important consumer awareness about both the benefits of metal water bottles and the dangers of BPA.

And Sigg’s long and respected history in the industry helped it come back strong.

Sigg and Cuipo

Sigg has long been an advocate for environmental awareness, and is now partnering with Cuipo, a retailer dedicated to protecting the Cuipo Rainforest Preserve of Panama.

Cuipo has acquired 13,354,600 square meters of rain forest set aside for preservation.

Each purchase of a Cuipo item saves one square meter through their One Meter at a Time project.

Sigg Cuipo Tiko 0.3L

The Sigg Cuipo Tiko 0.3L water bottle is the perfect size for toddlers and preschoolers, but we found it also to be ideal for school-aged kids to pack in their school lunch.

The Tiko fits well in standard lunch boxes and bento boxes, and includes the sport top with lid, so the liquid won’t spill and the mouth piece won’t get dirty.

Best of all for this family of boys?

The Tiko is truly unisex.

Its bright orange color and tiki bird appeal to everyone.

If the Tiko isn’t quite big enough, the Cuipo Cezar and Peaches are 0.4L and include the same type of sport top.

After you take the tag off the Tiko or any other Cuipo bottle, you’ll see an activation code.

Simply go to the Cuipo website (listed on the tag), enter the code, and see the meter of rain forest you saved.

My eight-year-old really got into this; he could actually see what his purchase had saved.

Sigg Cuipo Be the Solution 1L

For adults and teens, the Sigg Cuipo Be the Solution 1L bottle is large while still fitting in most cup holders and backpack bottle sleeves.

The mouth is wide enough for ice cubes, and it has my favorite new Sigg feature: the active top.

Much like the bite valve on a hydration pack, the active top uses a straw design and soft bite mouth piece so you can draw water without taking off the lid or pausing in your hike or bike ride.

“To be certain that you are choosing a bottle that does not leach, check the recycling symbol on your bottle. If it is a #2 HDPE (high density polyethylene), or a #4 LDPE (low density polyethylene), or a #5 PP (polypropylene), your bottle is fine. The type of plastic bottle in which water is usually sold is usually a #1, and is only recommended for one time use. Do not refill it. Better to use a reusable water bottle, and fill it with your own filtered water from home and keep these single-use bottles out of the landfill. Unfortunately, those fabulous colorful hard plastic lexan bottles made with polycarbonate plastics and identified by the #7 recycling symbol, may leach BPA.”…from Trusted.md

My Recommendation:

For me, the choice is easy; I use a Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel Water Bottle (Klean Kanteen also sells Sippy Cups for kids.)

There just isn’t a real excuse anymore as to having to use disposable water bottles as they come in BPA-free plastic, in stainless steel, and in glass, as well as in many different sizes.

We’ve seen them in 56 ounce sizes down to 8 ounce and 6 ounce sizes for kids.

The most popular are around 16 ounces. Sometimes there is just no choice, maybe while traveling or a at a party, and you have use a disposable plastic water bottle.

When you do, it’s great to make the eco-friendly choice and choose Redleaf biodegradable water bottles.

Redleaf sent us one of their biodegradable water bottles for review, and the water is great, the bottle is sturdy, and overall it seems like the best choice for bottled water when you are unable to drink from the tap.

Hopefully U.S. companies will follow the Canadians’ lead.

We would definitely choose this water bottle over the traditional throwaway recyclable plastic water bottles.

Finding healthy water while traveling

While at home, you have the ability to drink the highest quality water you can find.

In the U.S., it is generally believed that drinking filtered tap water is one of the safest and eco-friendly ways to go.

26 thoughts on “How to Choose Healthy Water Bottle”

@Iain Thanks for the link! I think the research reveals that this is still up in the air a bit. However, based on the possibility for germ build-up etc., it’s still not a good idea to use single-use water bottles on a long-term, ongoing basis.

All nice, but doesn’t the making of a stainless steel bottle cost so much energy that it may be more eco-friendly to buy throw away waterbottles. These can be burned pretty efficiently with modern techniques, which will produce electricity so they may actually be more eco-friendly than an energy slurping (and thusgreenhouse gas emitting) Klean Kanteen.

The Klean Kanteen may sound nice, but is it really green? The making of a stainless steel bottle cost so much energy that it may be more eco-friendly to buy throw away waterbottles (or a non bpa plastic one). These can be burned pretty efficiently with modern techniques, which will produce electricity so they may actually be more eco-friendly than an energy slurping (and thusgreenhouse gas emitting) Klean Kanteen. (sorry for doubleposting)

Jake- while that’s an interesting thought, over the course of a person’s lifetime, or even just a few years, the reality is that the energy required to produce plastic is that much greater. I use my Klean Kanteen daily and think about the difference if I was using a new throwaway bottle every day. Stainless steal is a onetime investment; requiring a onetime energy consumption; whereas plastic bottles require a lot more energy.

I stopped using bottled water for a number of reasons and when I did I tried a number of reusable bottles. I did not like plastic or metal bottles so I tried glass. I found one I like so much that I started selling them

Elizabeth/Kimberly: Like you, my three parnters and I (called Four Women, LLC) wanted to do something to eliminate the plastic bottles in our landfills and the leaching of toxins into our bodies. In conjuction with Tetra Pak we have developed a BPA free paper water bottle called Balamar Springs. It has pure natural spring water in a 16.9/500 mil size with a ph of 7.8. It is recyclable and collapsible so that even if it gets dumped it will take up less space in the landfill and not take 700 years to decompose. Balamar Springs keeps the water cooler 20% longer than PET water and you don’t have to worry if you leave it in your car.

I am a partner and therefore love this product but I am also a greenie from way back and thought you might find this interesting. Best of luck,

As much as I love these reusable bottles. I have to say that polycarbonate is not that bad. First of all, EVERY material leaches something into the water. Steel leaches heavy metals and even GLASS leaches lead. BPA is dangerous in large doses. But the amount is minute in a PC Nalgene. Great and informative though!

GREAT article! Thanks for posting :). I am a HUGE fan of Klean Kanteen products. I’ve been using mine for a while now, and, let me tell you, I’m not going back! Reusable bottles are so much better for me, my family, and the environment. I especially love how I don’t have to worry about the liner having BPA, because there is no liner! Love it! Thanks again :).

Actually Sigg stainless steel line of water bottles is “Steel Works” and they are not lined like the Sigg Aluminum bottles are. Steel Works are all 18/8 stainless. Just to be fair… I have a variety of stainless bottles and Sigg is probably my favorite. Just my two cents…

Hey guys , I have one better!
Its eco and completely only filtered water bottle to be fully endorsed by NATO and London Medical school for tropical diseases (and most other international government bodies)

I went trekking in Kokoda last year and got word of and Eco Travel water filtered bottle, I could fill up the bottle in any freshwater stream no matter how polluted and then just screw the lid on and the carbon filter at the top does the rest.
It seriously was amazing, the water tasted great, and it fights against all the nasty water breeding bacterias including Cyrpotsporidium and Giardia and last for up to 350L.
And what got me most is its soo environmentally friendly too.
check out the website to see more of the econess, I just thought id share my happiness with product!